The 'no' man may return

Peggy Fikac: Sen. Steve Ogden's decision to run for re-election after all has some concerned, some relieved.

By Peggy Fikac :
December 13, 2009

AUSTIN - As Texas lawmakers prepare for a budget crunch, some felt relief and others trepidation when Senate Finance Committee Chair Steve Ogden changed his mind and filed for re-election.

Ogden, R-Bryan, doesn't have a clear shot at re-election; Huntsville businessman Ben Bius is staying in the GOP primary race even though he's now taking on a powerful incumbent.

But the odds favor the guy already in the seat, and he's expected to keep his Finance chairmanship if he returns for the 2011 session. Even Democrats have varied views on that.

"Steve and I disagree on a number of things, but I think his working knowledge of the budget is going to be needed," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio.Why is that crucial? "I guess it's because nobody knows how to say 'no' better than Steve Ogden," Van de Putte said. "We're going to have to say 'no' a lot. We have to be really smart about it. You just don't cut 10 percent across the board. You need to be very delicate with this budget scalpel."

Here's how: When the expansion got in trouble because of House Democrats' stalling to prevent GOP-pushed voter ID legislation, Coleman pressed Ogden to pass a CHIP bill from his committee: "The answer came back the same every time - the Senate Finance Committee was shut down for the session and therefore those bills are not going to pass."

Ogden said, "The simple answer is, we couldn't afford it."

Coleman, a champion of services for the disadvantaged, hastened to say that Ogden also has supported proposals that he favored: "Steve isn't heartless. ... But he certainly likes to do things his way and (is) very conservative, so that is what puts families at risk."

The Senate's got a GOP majority, and GOP Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is running for re-election. If Ogden didn't return, another Republican would be expected to fill the chair, as things stand. But Coleman said, "Sometimes it's just time to have new people stir the pot."

Ogden noted that he's far from a lone actor when the budget is crafted: "It's misleading to sort of portray it as some sort of arbitrary process where you start amputating programs that other people favor. You've got to build a consensus, and you've got to pass that bill with a two-thirds vote in the Senate."

Coleman - who noted that as fledgling lawmakers together nearly two decades go, he and Ogden shared a basement office "about as big as a Suburban" - added of his CHIP encounter with Ogden, "I really was surprised at his attitude in talking with me."

Ogden indicated there was room for improvement there: "Not making excuses, he wasn't the only guy banging on me in the last days of the session with the House melting down, asking me to save something, and I would have helped on every one if we would've had the money ... I had to say 'no' a lot last session ... I certainly could improve on how I said it."

Of course, no matter how nicely it's said, no is still no.

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State Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, bemused by the lack of attention paid his post, put out a faux personal ad headlined "candidate seeking candidate" to encourage more competition.

Bill Burton has already filed for the Democratic nod. But Patterson said he'd like to see Kinky Friedman jump in (Friedman is looking at making a change from the governor's race): "His name ID is probably 100 percent. Mine is 10. Mine would go to 50 pretty soon ... Think of how much fun we would have. Let us entertain you."

By the way, the twice-divorced Patterson said he's never taken out an actual personal ad: "No. Do you think it's a good idea?"

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Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, told my colleague Gary Scharrer that allies encouraged him to run for comptroller and he briefly considered it before deciding to run for re-election. Villarreal told Scharrer he spent two years laying groundwork before deciding to run for the state House in 2000: "That's the kind of grassroots and methodical effort I will take if I run for statewide office."